It Rained Rained Rained, and we Loved Loved Loved.

I bought the ticket on a whim after Cody had invited me to the concert.

Going to concerts always makes me nervous. I never feel quite cool enough.

Brand New, Manchester Orchestra at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.

The Windy City.

It took us hours to get there.

(four of them)

I drove them all. This is a huge personal accomplishment.

Once we arrived, paid twenty bucks to park, and hit up a starbucks, we found ourselves in a head shop listening to a stonned Kevin Smith Replica talk about a “sack of tatoes”.

Also, for the low, low price of two dollars I rescued a sunny yellow hat from a dreary army supply store; but my favorite purchase of the day was a worn Edith Wharton novel from a cutesy used bookstore.

The concert was a madhouse. Manchester was mind-blowing and Brand New stirred up passionin the crowed that I didn’t know existed.

I can’t believe I’d forgotten how much I liked getting shoved around by horrifyingly hugemasses of sweaty, intoxicated people.

It was late once we headed back toward home. Our eyes got droopy and as the driver, I knew we wouldn’t make it the whole way, so we parked at a truck stop and napped for a few hours.

It was freezing.

I’m astonished that we didn’t get murdered by a serial killer.

Cody D is one of the loveliest additions to my life. Without him, I’d be lost.

(By the way his eye ball is almost completely healed now.)

And Derek, the trust sidekick is pretty swell as well.